


golden dreams were sunny days

by Flips_and_Quips



Series: beyond the unknown [2]
Category: Night at the Museum (Movies), The Mummy (1999), The Mummy Series
Genre: Gen, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-29
Updated: 2020-10-29
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:21:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,997
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27263401
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Flips_and_Quips/pseuds/Flips_and_Quips
Summary: It was on the eve of Nefertiri’s second night in the so-calledmuseumthat she witnessed her firstrager, as Ahkmenrah had aptly put it later on. The likes of which she had never seen before.
Relationships: Ahkmenrah (Night at the Museum) & Nefertiri (The Mummy)
Series: beyond the unknown [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1990657
Comments: 11
Kudos: 37





	golden dreams were sunny days

**Author's Note:**

> **A/N:** **Okay, when I first started to write this, my plan was to post this by September 21st but I was hit by writer’s block and I couldn’t, for the life of me, continue writing because I had no idea what _to_ write. But here we are! Anyways, this is silly, light-hearted fun that was inspired by Rami’s dancing from the bts [clips](http://youtube.com/watch?v=msWLyrvCZzo) from the first film.**
> 
> **Disclaimer:** **I don't own the Mummy or the NatM franchises, sadly. They belong to Universal Studios and 20th Century Fox/Disney respectively.**

* * *

  
It was on the eve of Nefertiri’s second night in the so-called _museum_ that she witnessed her first _rager_ , as Ahkmenrah had aptly put it later on. The likes of which she had never seen before. 

Ahkmenrah had been courteous enough to guide her to the source of the loud noise he had assured her to be music upon her request. She was curious enough that she offered no complaint when he led her down the winding hallways. 

Along the way, he answered all of her questions with more patience than Nefertiri herself could have mustered were she in his position. 

As they neared the entrance Ahkmenrah had informed her was the _lobby_ , the music seemed to reach a crescendo. Hoots and hollers echoed down the hallway in time to the beat of the strange song. 

She damn near startled right out of her skin when some manner of beast roared in the distance but Ahkmenrah did not look too bothered so she quelled her unease and carried on. 

Finally, they made it to the heart of the party. From their perch near the landing that overlooked the lobby, Nefertiri had the perfect view of it below. She could hear music coming from somewhere above but a cursory glance around her proved futile since she couldn’t seem to spot the location of the musicians.

Nefertiri had attended her fair share of banquets held on Tekh in her youth — she was no stranger to loud, boisterous parties, but not _quite_ ones like this. 

Aside from the crowds, dressed in all manner of attires she was surprised to note, there were even groups of animals, some of which Nefertiri had never even _seen_ , in the mix below. Only her strenuous grip on her manners prevented her from openly gawping.

“Ah, good! It’s just started,” Ahkmenrah cheered from beside her, drawing her from her shocked stupor. 

“Pardon?” She asked, perhaps a tad bit too curtly. Almost instantly, she felt shame and guilt. He had been nothing but helpful, the last thing he needed was her attitude.

Thankfully, Ahkmenrah seemed to take no offence to her short response. Instead, he tipped his head to the party below. “Looks we got here just on time. It’s best we get down there before it gets even more crowded. The exhibits from the Hall of Human Origins tend to get a little rowdy when Earth, Wind & Fire is on.”

None of what he said made the slightest bit of sense. But before Nefertari could point that out, Ahkmenrah gently took her by her arm, steering her towards the stairs. 

“Wait, hang on a mo—” The rest of Nefertiri’s words trailed off into a scandalised squawk as Ahkmenrah dragged her down the stairs before making their way to the middle of the lobby, amidst the others already dancing in the crowd. 

She stumbled after him, looking rather ruffled as she narrowly dodged the throngs of people and some animals scurrying underfoot in an effort to keep up with his fast-paced gait. 

Ahkmenrah didn't seem to care a whit, already swept up in the moment as several others stopped whatever it was they were doing to greet him with loud cheers and more than a few enthusiastic waving. 

The music was so loud, Nefertiri swore she could feel the vibrations down to her bones. She might not have understood the meaning of the words but secretly she could admit that the song _was_ catchy. 

Ahkmenrah obviously thought the same because he was moving and swaying to the beat, making odd gestures and silly expressions as he did so. 

“What?” Ahkmenrah laughingly asked upon catching sight of her wide-eyed stare. 

“What are you _doing_?” Nefertiri hissed, utterly aghast. Surely a king would conduct himself better, especially in front of such a large crowd. 

"Dancing," was his simple reply, as if that made it better. This time he was snapping his fingers in time to the beat. 

Nefertiri pursued her lips, conflicted. A part of her, the part that still defaulted to age-old rules and decorum, wanted to recoil at his flagrant disregard of them. But then she would be lying if she didn't say that she was grudgingly amused despite herself because while he was making a spectacle of himself, he looked like he couldn’t be happier. 

Ahkmenrah simply danced on without a care, not that the others seemed to pay him any mind. In fact, there were a handful who heartily called out words of encouragement.

"Is this what passes for dancing nowadays?" Nefertiri asked, more curious than scathing, as she discreetly observed a heavily armoured man shuffle as much as he could in his cumbersome attire.

Unbeknownst to her, Nefertiri had started to move her shoulders in time with the steady percussion.

"You'd be surprised," Ahkmenrah laughed, politely refraining from commenting on his observation lest he make her feel self-conscious. 

At his reply, Nefertiri furrowed her brows in thought.

"Come, you'll be more at ease if you don't think too hard about it. There are no courtiers or nobles here to scandalise, your Highness," he said with a hint of a mischievous grin, and Nefertiri felt her stomach swoop in response. "It's alright to cut loose a little."

That stopped her short, and she wordlessly parroted the words in askance. What on earth could he possibly mean?

Thankfully, Ahkmenrah saw her confusion and quickly cleared things up. “It means it’s alright to relax, to have a bit of fun.”

Nefertiri cast a furtive glance around her, which Ahkmenrah was quick to notice. In her distraction, she barely managed to move out of the way of a man who stumbled past them. He tossed his head back as he roared in laughter at whatever his companion had said, another man with flaxen hair, swaddled in wool and thick furs. They too seemed to be in a jovial mood, swaying to the rhythm as they echoed the song's chorus with a drunken slur. She stared after them in thoughtful silence.

“No one will mind,” he gently cajoled with a more subdued grin, drawing Nefertiri's attention back to him. “Surely you’ve been to your fair share of feasts, you've seen the khener perform. This isn't so different."

Nefertiri pondered over this, biting her lip. There was truth to his words but— “I'm unfamiliar with this song, I don’t know what kind of dance would be appropriate for it,” she admitted with great difficulty, smoothing her hands over the pleats of her borrowed kalasiris self-consciously. 

In truth, she had never really _danced_ , much less in public. It wasn't considered altogether proper for her to do so, and her father had a troupe of khener under his employ for these occasions besides.

“Nonsense!” Ahkmenrah grinned, resuming to dance with gusto as if to prove a point. It really was a wonder why his pschent didn’t just simply fly right off his head given how _impassioned_ some of his dance moves were. “That sort of thing hardly matters here. So long as you’re having a good time, there’s really no right or wrong way to dance.”

Then, in a move that surprised Nefertiri, Ahkmenrah offered her both his hands in wordless invitation. She stared at him, baffled. Surely he couldn’t be _thinking_ —

Ahkmenrah wiggled his fingers but made no move to grab her hands, opting instead to wait for her to decide on her own, ever considerate. 

It took a concentrated effort not to gawk at him, and she flicked her incredulous gaze from his proffered hands to his face, then back again. He looked open as ever, a good-natured grin easing his features into something welcoming. 

_Everyone seemed to be having so much fun_ , Nefertiri thought to herself, with a bit of longing. _Surely it wouldn’t hurt for her to dance, just for a little while?_

Then, before she could second-guess herself, she slipped her hands into his, forcibly ignoring the small part of her that balked at the impropriety of it all. 

He looked elated, humbled by her show of trust. He wrapped his fingers around her palms, slowly shimmying his shoulders in such a way that Nefertiri couldn’t help but mirror it in reverse due to their connected hands. It went on in such a fashion for a minute or two, Ahkmenrah not really leading the dance so much as gently coaxing Nefertiri to be comfortable enough to dance on her own.

Nefertiri spent an inordinate amount of time staring at her feet to avoid the embarrassment of tripping over herself. Ahkmenrah tried to bolster her spirits by heaping her with words of encouragement, and bit by bit, the tense set of Nefertiri’s shoulders slowly unwound itself. 

In between the beat and the next the song changed, though by the sounds of it, it was probably the same singer as the previous one. It was still largely unfamiliar to Nefertiri but Ahkmenrah perked up in recognition all the same. 

Unexpectedly, Ahkmenrah spun them both around in a clumsy circle. Nefertiri’s hair flew behind her in an arch as she stumbled after him, a gasp caught in her throat. She looked both delighted and terrified all at once as they completed the circle, still unused to the freedoms Ahkmenrah was more accustomed to at this point. 

Caught up in the excitement of the moment, Nefertiri merely laughed when she bumped into him, her sandalled feet sliding across the smooth surface of the floor. He steadied her, likely feeling the same giddiness as he too dissolved into more laughter.

"That's the spirit," Ahkmenrah cheered, their hands pressed between them. There really was no rhythm to their movements, they were simply dancing however they pleased. It was strangely freeing.

He eventually took a few steps back to give her more room to dance. "See, not so bad now is it?"

Feeling a sudden surge of bravery, Nefertiri tried to mimic some of the more subdued steps she had seen the khener in her father's court perform in the past, gently swaying her hips and moving her feet in a manner she hoped didn't look too out of place when coupled with a more _modern_ song. She slipped her hands from his, moving to grasp her skirt to give her more freedom of movement. 

"My nursemaid would have had a fit if she saw me now," she confessed with a guilty thrill of excitement, looking unexpectedly abashed by the admission.

"Then I won't tell if you don't," Ahkmenrah responded with a cheeky grin, looking largely pleased with himself. 

This was another thing that had initially caught Nefertiri off-guard — this playful, mischievous side of him, at odds with the solemn air of gravitas and calm composure he had displayed the night before. 

It was then that Nefertiri was reminded that beneath all the regalia was a man who, in life, had only been a scant few years older than she was. 

Buoyed by the laughter and the cheery atmosphere, Nefertiri responded in kind, "Hm, yes, best take that secret to the grave then. Nedjem, may the gods bless her, can go on for days on how a princess should and shouldn't act. Wepet-Renpet would have come and gone by the time she was through.”

“Well, we can't have that, now can we? Not when there’s so fun to be had!” To punctuate this, he spun in place, his golden cloak flaring out as he did so. 

Nefertiti bit back a grin, begrudgingly amused. She tried her hand at mimicking some of Ahkmenrah’s moves, and she had somehow pulled it off with more success than she originally anticipated. 

She still felt bouts of uncertainty and self-consciousness on occasion but Ahkmenrah was quick to distract her with demonstrations of his interpretation of the dances he had been taught by someone named _Nicky_ , a most unusual name. 

Altogether, it wasn’t a bad way to start the night Nefertiri would reluctantly admit. It _was_ fun. And by the grin on Ahkmenrah’s face, he obviously thought the same. 

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: You just know Nicky teaches Ahk all these modern slang and lingo, and Ahk teaches him some Egyptian words and phrases in exchange.
> 
> On a slightly more serious note though, same disclaimer as my previous fic applies, I am by no means an expert so take whatever tidbit of Ancient Egyptian info I sprinkled in here with a grain of salt. 
> 
> Which brings me to this point, the upper-class Ancient Egyptians weren’t really allowed to dance in public, so royals like Ahk and Nefertiri probably simply watched their performers dance and sing in their stead back in the day. They were literally deified so I suppose it would be strange to see their god-king/queen dance amongst mortals, blasphemous almost.
> 
> —
> 
> A glossary of some of the terms I used:
> 
> _Tekh_ \- The festival of drunkenness. 
> 
> _Kalasiris_ \- the form-fitting dress typically worn by women, usually made from linen. 
> 
> _Pschent_ \- the crown worn by the pharaohs of a unified Egypt. Technically Ahk wore a deshret, which was the crown of pharaohs of Lower Egypt but I assume he ruled the Two Lands so I tweaked that a bit.
> 
>  _Khener_ \- a troupe of performers; singers, dancers and musicians. 
> 
> _Wepet-Renpet_ \- a festival similar to New Year, though it never had a fixed date. It’s celebration depended on the flooding of the Nile.


End file.
